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A $15 minimum wage for all city workers would cost more than $3 million: Portland City Hall Roundup

Minimum Wage Protest At City Hall

Several dozen protesters gathered at City Hall in May, hoping to call attention to the minimum wage and push for an increase. The protestors entered City Hall after several speeches, and made trips to several politicians offices inside the building. Beth Nakmaura/The Oregonian

But activists said despite that roadblock, the city can do a few simple things to improve lives for its thousands of city workers. Their proposals: Pay all city employees at least $15 per hour, mandate city contractors pay the same wage and create a new "living wage tax" on local businesses that don't pay employees the $15 wage.

Putting the political minefield of creating a new tax on businesses to the side for a moment, we looked at what it would take to tackle the other two requests and what that would cost on an annual basis. The answer (thanks to public records requests), upwards of $3 million per year.

Here's a breakdown:

PAY ALL CITY EMPLOYEES $15 PER HOUR

Portland has roughly 5,522 total positions working city government, both full and part time. According to Bureau of Human Resources officials, all but "a few classifications" outside the thousands of unionized workers start out at earning more than $15 an hour. "They are primarily trainee classifications and/or are not widely used," HR officials said in an email.

But the city employs another 2,072 casual or seasonal employees that make less than $15 an hour. Those employees work fewer than 1,400 hours in a given year.

The vast majority of those employees work at the Bureau of Parks & Recreation. Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees the bureau, said it would cost roughly $2.7 million per year to pay all those workers more than $15 an hour.

Anna Kanwit, the city's Human Resources director said that estimate is likely far too low, saying that figure doesn't include any benefits or overtime.

COULD PORTLAND REQUIRE CONTRACTORS EARN $15 AN HOUR?

Yes. Oregon state law provides for specific exemptions to the minimum wage laws. Mayor Charlie Hales' office asked the city attorney's office to look into it.

How much of an impact would that have? That part is difficult to quantify. Procurement officials said they don't track how many employees work under all city contracts.

The city also has a Fair Wage Policy written into city code affecting service contractors. Fritz asked city officials for an analysis of what bumping those workers to $15 an hour would cost. The answer: more than $676,000 per year, according to city data.

Here's how that shakes out

• Stadium attendants: $185,000

• Parking attendants: $163,000

• Parking garage security patrol: $65,000

• Office building janitorial: $176,000

• Office building security: $87,000

Disclaimer from the Office of Management & Finance: This is a rough estimate based on projected regular hours and on information from the above related contracts because they were more readily available. Consequently, the cost would be more when factoring overtime and adding the cost for other service providers.

WHAT DOES HALES THINK OF ALL OF THIS?

Judging by his signature alongside more than a dozen other U.S. mayors, he's supportive of changing the status quo. He also surprised 15 Now organizers at the June 12 council hearing by saying he was opposed to state preemption.